Newsletter - 2024 Term 2 Week 2

Calendar

From the Leaders

In Sunday’s Gospel from Mark, the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, we are not celebrating Jesus’ leaving. We are celebrating his ability to be present to all people in all places at all times. The essence of the Gospel is that Jesus commissions us to proclaim - that for those Baptised as Christians, death is not the end but rather a magnificent beginning. In recent weeks we have been hearing about our relationship to Christ and to one another and now to continue his mission. At the end of each Mass, we are told that the Mass has ended but that we should go out to live the Gospel through our actions.

Thank you Lord for all mothers. 
For the new ones, who endure sleepless nights with infants in arms.
For the busy ones, who juggle the pressures of home and family life.
For the patient ones, who always seek to forgive.
For the persistent ones, who encourage us to follow our dreams.
For all grandmas, who love and support their precious grandchildren.
For the mums who give far beyond their own resource to cherish and love.

Amen

Mother's Day Celebrations

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mums, Grandmums, Step Mums, Foster Mums, Surrogate mums, Mums to be, and to all the men out there who are doing the mother and father jobs too. We wish everyone a wonderful day on Sunday and hope you are surrounded by love and gratitude for the gift that each of you are.

We also acknowledge community members who remember their loved ones who have gone to eternal life. We pray with thanks for the gift of love they shared with us.

Thank you to Trish Todd, Kim Post, Drew Wilson and Michelle Gerathy who coordinated our Mother’s and Others Day Celebration this morning. We hope all those who were able to attend ‘felt the love and appreciation'. We had over 350 people attend this morning, it was lovely to see such a large representation of our parent community. These photos were taken before the rush for seats!

Tell Them From Me

Starting today for the next week, we will be inviting students, teachers and parents to provide feedback on their experience of our school using an online survey. The surveys are an important part of our whole school evaluation and planning process and will be used to inform the development of our upcoming three year school plan.

We would like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at St Agnes' Primary School.

The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 10-20 minutes to complete. You are able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using this LINK.

First Holy Communion

Best wishes to all candidates in the St. Agnes’ Parish who are preparing to make their Sacrament of Confirmation on 21 May and 25 May or 2 June.  Next weekend each of these students, along with all others making this sacrament will be presented to the Parish Community at one of the regular masses.

Year 6 Mass

Year 6 attended Mass with Father Prodencio on Thursday at Christ the King Chapel. His homily challenged all of us to constantly try to be our best selves. Just as Jesus instructed the 12 Apostles to leave everything behind, except the good news, he asked us to focus more on continuing to improve ourselves, rather than being focused on material goods.

Super Sentences!

We are so proud of our Kindergarten treasures who are learning to write sentences as well. Look how proud they were to come to the office and show off their writing skills!

Learning Conversations

We remind all families that Learning Conversations are currently happening, until the end of Week 4. If you haven’t booked this important partnership conversation with your child’s teacher yet, please click here to book (use the code wss9j) a time over the coming weeks.

Welcome

We would love to welcome Mrs Jane Singh to our school community. Jane will be replacing Mrs Lindsy Foster as Stage Two Fourth Teacher until the end of the year, whilst Lindsy is on Maternity Leave. Jane has already spent many days on that Stage as a Casual Teacher, so the children have been excited to hear that she is with us now.  

eSafety 101: How eSafety Can Help 

This webinar provides an overview of the eSafety Commissioner and supporting programs and resources for parents and carers, children and young people. Suitable for parents and carers of children and young people in primary and secondary school. 

Tuesday 14 May: 12:30 pm
Thursday 6 June: 12:30 pm

Register here for eSafety 101

Consent and Online Boundaries

As children begin to navigate the online world, they need to know how to make decisions around consent and boundaries. This webinar will outline strategies for parents and carers, as well as support those hard-to-have conversations. It is suitable for parents and carers of children in primary school.

Tuesday 28 May: 12:30 pm
Tuesday 18 June: 12:30 pm

Register here for Consent and Online Boundaries

Setting your Child up for Success Online 

An overview of having conversations about tech and online interaction, putting boundaries and rules in place, using parental controls, and monitoring your child online. It's suitable for parents and carers of children in primary school.

Thursday 30 May: 12:30 pm
Thursday 20 June: 12:30 pm

Register here for Setting your Child up for Success Online

As a school community we have been trying to ensure the safety of students and families at drop off and pick up times in Boronia Street. The topic of traffic congestion, limited parking and excess water flow around the drains during periods of heavy rain has been raised since last year at parent meetings. We have been in communication with the Hastings Council to discuss these issues and are now waiting on feedback after our matter being discussed at a meeting on 15 May. Any updated information will be shared with parents and carers as we receive it.

Family and School Partnerships

Sports News

Polding Winter Sports Trials - Tamworth

Last Thursday and Friday, three students travelled to Tamworth to compete at the Polding Winter Sports Trials, Ethan Favaloro for Hockey and Jagga Smith and Jade Johnson for Soccer. The report from the two days was that the competition was hard, but our students enjoyed the experience of playing against some of the best hockey and soccer players from Catholic Schools in NSW. Jagga Smith was successful on the day and now progresses to the NSW PSSA Championship, where she will take the field as part of the Polding team. Congratulations, Jagga, for your selection and Ethan and Jade for making it to the Polding level. 

Here is what Ethan, Jagga and Jade had to say about the day.

On the 3rd of May, I travelled to Tamworth to attend the Polding trials for hockey. The day before the actual trials we were given our game shirts at the training session with our team. The team that I played with was the Diocese of Lismore. Polding is the level with players from the top of NSW down to the Sydney area. On the day of the Polding trials, my team and I did some warm-ups by running, doing high knees, and that sort of stuff. The Lismore team played only three games on the day. We won two and lost one. The games had fifteen-minute halves with a one-minute break in between each half. In the end, I did not make the possibles and probables. The weather was lovely, it was sunny and warm, and there were only a few clouds in the sky. Although I didn't make it through, it was still a great overall experience, and I am happy that I made it that far because I have never even made it to Dio. It has probably been the best school-related experience that I have ever had.

Ethan Favaloro 

On the 3rd of May, Jade and I travelled to Tamworth for the Polding trials for soccer. The day before, we had a training session for 1 hour so everyone could get to know everyone. The weather was warm and sunny. Before each game, we did stretches and passing drills. We played 5 or 6 games on the day. Each game was 15 minutes long. Most of the games we played ended up 0-0. We were representing the Lismore Diocese on the day. We gathered around to hear who made it possibles and probables, and sure enough, Jagga made it to the possibles and probables game. After the game, they announced who made the NSWPSSA team, and Jagga was successful. It was pretty challenging because there were very good soccer players, but we made it through the day and had a lot of fun.

Jade Johnson & Jagga Smith

Diocesan Rugby Union Trials - Grafton

Good luck to our five Aggies students who will travel to Grafton next week to compete at the Diocesan Rugby Union Sports Trials. We wish the following students all the best and hope you enjoy the experience.

Zane Bannon - Year 5
Reagan Clark - Year 5
Ryan Chilko - Year 5
Oliver Wainwright - Year 5
Charlie Haddon - Year 6
Harley Cadden - Year 6

Zone Cross Country - Kempsey

The Zone Cross Country Carnival was cancelled on Wednesday due to rain and the closed Kempsey fields. The backup date is Wednesday 15 May. The event schedule remains the same. Families will need to access the Compass app and approve the date change for the event. The bus will leave from the front of the school at 8:15am on Wednesday.

Coached Sport - Basketball

This term, St Agnes' has secured funding through the Sporting School grants to have basketball coaches come into the school and work with our students. The coaching will be for all students from Kindergarten through to Year 6, including some special development coaching for our registered players. We are currently working with the Port Macquarie Basketball Association, and more details will be provided in the following weeks.

Future Dates

Term 2

• Wednesday 15 May - Zone Cross Country, Kempsey (bus departs at 8:15am)
• Friday 17 May - Diocesan Rugby Union Trials, Grafton
• Tuesday 21 May - Diocesan Cross Country, Grafton
• Friday 7 June - Diocesan Rugby Union Gala Day, Coffs Harbour
• Tuesday 18 June - NSW Netball School’s Cup Years 5 and 6 Gala Day
• Friday 21 June - School Athletics Carnival

Positive Behaviour Support

This week we continue with our PBS focus on being Resolute. I embrace challenges and learn from setbacks. Last week we unpacked the definition of resolute. We have applied this definition to goal setting and know that this means being determined and focused to achieve our goals. But what happens when we hit a roadblock or something that feels really hard and derails us away from our goal/hopes? We need to apply a growth mindset.

PBS Focus: RESOLUTE: I embrace challenges and learn from setbacks. 

Catholic Social Teaching: The Common Good

The common good is reached when we work together to improve the wellbeing of people in our society and the wider world.

Family Resources:

Sites to check out

https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/encouraging-your-child-to-keep-trying

St Agnes' Primary School Community Forum

Dear Parents, 

Thank you Ironman Volunteers - Last Sunday a group of 28 students, parents, grandparents and staff volunteered for Port Macquarie Ironman, representing our school and the St Agnes’ Primary School Community Forum. Thank you to Simon Hersee and Monique McEntyre for leading this group. A huge thanks also to Miss Boller, Mrs Healey, Mr Wilson, Mrs O’Brien, Dominic O, Lynne Rangel, Linda Woodhall, Peter Sutton , Jenna Sales, Karyn Reincastle, Alisha V, Katie Lill, John and Colleen McQueen, Jim and Mary O’Brien, Abbie English, Vivi Jai and Jagga S. 

May Meeting – Our first meeting as a ‘Community Forum’ will be held on Monday 20 May (5:45pm) in the staff room. All parents are invited to attend. The meeting will commence with a brief Special General Meeting where nominations for the following executive roles will be called for: 

Communications Coordinator – responsible for taking the lead on the creation of invitations, flyers and other communications for Community Forum activities and sharing these items via relevant channels to ensure parents are informed. 

Volunteer Coordinator – responsible for taking the lead on sourcing and securing parent volunteers for Community Forum activities and briefing parents on their volunteer roles. This person will also be the best point of contact when school requests help from the Community Forum in finding parent volunteers for school led activities.

Bel Smith – The Root Cause: We are excited to welcome Bel Smith of The Root Cause to the meeting who will present to us on how to Boost Wellbeing, Improve Learning & Behaviour and Reduce Waste at School. See flyer below to learn more.

Get in Touch! – To have an item that you wish to be included on a future meeting agenda or a suggestion for a future educational topic, please email pandfstagnes@gmail.com.

Kind regards,
Allison Ritchie
Chairperson, St Agnes’ Primary School Community Forum

Canteen News

Parish News

Key Enrolment Dates For 2025

Kindergarten Information Sessions

• St Agnes’ Primary School – Saturday 18 May 2024 – 9:30am
• St Peter’s Primary School – Saturday 18 May 2024 – 9:30am
  
• St Joseph’s Primary School – Saturday 18 May 2024 – 9:30am

Primary School Tour for Kindergarten

• St Agnes’ Primary School – Saturday 1 June 2024 – 2:00pm
  
• St Peter’s Primary School – Saturday 1 June 2024 – 2:00pm
  
• St Joseph’s Primary School – Saturday 1 June 2024 – 2:00pm

Community News